Latest news with #Jamal
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Automotive
- Business Recorder
‘I had to skip work again': Karachiites struggle with Ajrak number plates process
KARACHI: Muhammad Jamal bought his Alto in 2022 through a bank loan, expecting the excitement of car ownership to be matched with smooth formalities. But three years later, he still doesn't have an Excise-issued number plate. 'I don't even know if the plate will be delivered to me or to the bank,' said Jamal, frustrated. With his original documents locked with the bank until the loan matures, and the Excise office requiring those same papers to issue the plate, Jamal finds himself at a bureaucratic dead end. He's not alone. Across Karachi, from business owners to delivery riders, ordinary citizens are caught in the confusion and delay caused by the Sindh government's drive to replace old number plates with new, Ajrak-themed ones. While officials argue the move is part of a broader Safe City initiative, people say the process has been anything but safe or smooth. Here's how to apply for new Ajrak design number plates online Umair Alam, an entrepreneur, also took his car out of the showroom in 2022 and registered it soon after. Since then, he's heard little more than what he called 'broken promises'. 'They told me the number plate would come by April 2025. Then in May, I followed up, and now they're saying July,' he told Business Recorder. Alam paid for registration once, but when the government introduced the Ajrak plates mid-process, he was told to pay again. Abid Hussain, a delivery boy who had come to the Excise office to apply for a number plate, said that was his second visit to the office. 'I had to skip work again, but I couldn't apply today either due heavy rush,' he lamented. On the other hand, Muhammad Qaiser, a private employee, told Business Recorder that he had preferred to apply online. 'However, after applying online, I neither received a payment confirmation SMS nor any information about when the number plate will be delivered,' he said. Qaiser said the tracking ID was only showing whether the plate had been printed or delivered. 'It does not specify when it will actually be received.' He added that there was no home delivery option available for online payments. 'At one point, I saw a courier option, but when I clicked it, it turned out to be invalid.' Two office for a population of over 20 million Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, has a population of around 20.3 million as per Census 2023. Yet, currently there are only two Excise offices - one at Hassan Square and the other in Clifton - to offer services related to vehicles registration and new number plates. Number plates with Ajrak design: only Excise-issued plates are valid, says minister When the scribe visited one of the two offices, several people were seen complaining about the shortage of counters and staff. They said establishing only two registration offices for such a large city was 'incomprehensible' and imposing a strict deadline on top of it was 'irrational'. The citizens called for an increase in the number of registration offices and an extension of the August 14 deadline. Agents were also seen taking advantage of people's plight outside the Excise Office. The scribe, not disclosing the identity, asked an agent standing outside the office how much he would charge to get the number plate work done. The agent responded that it would cost Rs10,000 for a car and Rs7,000 for a bike, with a delivery time of one to one and a half months. Meanwhile, not far from Excise offices, local shops continued to make duplicate number plates despite Sindh Excise and Taxation minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla's warning that only Excise offices could issue the new Ajrak design number plates and those issued by outside agents or shops would not be considered valid. A local craftsman who makes duplicate number plates told Business Recorder that most of his customers were students or delivery riders. According to the craftsman, people believe that police enforcement is limited to major roads, while students mostly ride their bikes in neighborhoods, so they prefer duplicate plates. He also mentioned that a duplicate plate for a bike costs around Rs500 to Rs600, whereas the official excise plate costs nearly Rs2,000. 'Due to limited financial resources and time, riders opt for duplicate plates.' Why new Ajrak design number plates? Earlier this month, Excise minister Chawla, explaining why Ajrak number plates were important, said the Safe City Project could not succeed until the security-enhanced number plates issued by the government were fully implemented. Talking to Business Recorder then, the minister ruled out the use of old or the number plate manufactured in open market/shops. Sindh extends deadline for Ajrak number plates until August 14 Emphasising the use of Ajrak number plates, the minister described the features of the number plate adding that the plates included threads in the background, 3D holograms, and barcodes. The Safe City cameras would also be able to read the plate number in night, he added. Chawla stated that the excise department had launched three different colored number plates: white plates for private vehicles and bikes, yellow plates for commercial vehicles, and green plates for government vehicles. He mentioned that the fee for vehicle number plates—whether government or commercial—was set at Rs2,450, and Rs1,850 for two wheelers.
New Straits Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
'Cheaper for Harimau Malaya to go to Singapore than Dushanbe?
KUALA LUMPUR: For years, Harimau Malaya lamented that no top teams want to play them because of their "low" standard. Now ironically, Malaysia withdrew from the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup after accepting a first ever invitation. And now, there is speculation that Malaysia may play Singapore instead during the September Fifa window. Malaysia still want to play their neighbours from across the Causeway — again, again and again? Singapore as replacement for higher ranked teams like Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran, who are going to the 2026 World Cup? Football legend Datuk Jamal Nasir Ismail finds this purported U-turn from Central Asia to Southeast Asia baffling. "They don't want to play in a good tournament. What's the strategy? There must be something that has led to this," said Jamal. It was reported that the national team will instead hold a training camp in Kuala Lumpur from Sept 1–9, while a friendly with Singapore was being considered. Jamal said the national team could be trying to save costs as going to Singapore instead of Dushanbe (for the Nations Cup) is cheaper. "Is it because of financial constraints? When going there (Nations Cup), you have to pay this and that, flights are expensive, but here (Singapore) is not that expensive. "They should come out with a press conference to explain and not just keep quiet," he added. Jamal also found it hard to accept the reasons for Malaysia's withdrawal — travel logistics, transit fatigue and the unavailability of overseas-based players. "These are not good excuses, and if there are transits, then go earlier and you can recover. Not a plausible excuse. "Even when they talk about overseas-based players who aren't available, do they think that only players like Imanol Machuca, Facundo Garces and Rodrigo Holgado are good and the rest aren't? I think netizens will think the same way, too," said Jamal.
Daily Mirror
5 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Horror video shows boy, 7, being kidnapped at gunpoint as dad flees
Terrifying video footage from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, shows the moment a car pulled out to a house and a boy was taken - the child's father appeared to run to safety Grim video shows the moment a seven-year-old boy was kidnapped at gunpoint and his father ran away to safety. Jamal White was riding his bike outside his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the US. Suddenly, a white Jeep can be seen in the footage pulling up and blocking the driveway. Two people then jump out and grab little Jamal as his dad Jamal Sr runs inside the house. 'Hell yeah I ran,' Jamal Sr said, responding to criticism on social media. He added: 'I ran im thinking they tryna rob me not take my damn baby.' WISN reported that an amber alert to inform the public of a missing child was not issued until nearly five hours later. Thankfully, Jamal Jr was found around a day later at a house approximately seven miles from where he was taken. Three people have been arrested. Suspect Corey Williams, 25, was charged with party to the crime of kidnapping with intent to transfer property, taking hostages and contributing to the delinquency of a child. A 14-year-old boy and a 38-year-old man were also arrested in connection with the incident. Police are not seeking additional suspects. ABC reported that Williams said the original plan was to rob Jamal White Jr's mother. He claimed she is a known drug dealer. Williams drove his girlfriend's Jeep and the other two suspects allegedly brought guns. They did not see Jamal Jr's mother, so went to his father's house instead. After taking Jamal Jr, they drove away to Williams' house. The 38-year-old suspect called Jamal's mother to demand jewellery and a $100,000 (£74,000) ransom to be exchanged in a park nearby. Jamal Jr's uncle Jamel K White allegedly opened fire on two people during the hunt for the boy and was arrested. Documents seen by the The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Jamel White shot at them as a man and his son drove past during the search. He hit an abandoned house and a tree. The uncle blamed his actions on being scared for the safety of his family, according to the complaint. He faces two charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety with a dangerous weapon. Jamel White appeared in court on Tuesday and he was ordered to have no possession of firearms or dangerous weapons and slapped with a $20,000 bond. "I'm glad he's OK, but it's kind of like, I feel like I still can't rest because who would do something like this to a 7-year-old?" little Jamal's aunt Simone White told WISN 12 News. She also thanked the community after it rallied to the cause following Jamal Jr being taken. The boy is now with Child Protective Services.
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
'Harimau's overreliance on heritage players exposes structural flaws'
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's withdrawal from the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup has exposed two deep-rooted problems within the national team setup — poor internal structure and overdependence on heritage or naturalised players. This was stated by football legend Datuk Jamal Nasir following Malaysia's eyebrow-raising pullout from the Nations Cup. Jamal expressed his concern over the way Harimau Malaya is being managed. He described the current structure as uncoordinated and overly reliant on individuals instead of a unified system. There has been backlash from fans after head coach Peter Cklamovski — , instead of the national team CEO, Rob Friend or deputy CEO Stanley Bernard — announced Malaysia's withdrawal. "Harimau Malaya are 'so-called' privatised and managed by certain individuals. So if the structure is haywire, it's not about FAM, but within Harimau Malaya itself," he said. "Why doesn't the CEO speak? Why always the head coach? Perhaps something is going on in management that we don't understand." Jamal said a proper national team setup should not be thrown into disarray just because a few key players (Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Facundo Garces and Gabriel Palmero) were unavailable. "Why must we focus on just three or unavailable four players? Whether the tournament is inside or outside the FIFA calendar shouldn't be the issue. Unless we don't have a team at all, this shouldn't be a problem," he said. Jamal feels that Malaysia's dependency on naturalised players is making the team fragile and unsustainable in the long run. "We can't just rely on naturalised or heritage players all the time, they have their commitments too," he said. "We need to believe in the other players. When certain players can't come, we collapse. It shows a lack of trust in the rest of the squad." He viewed the Nations Cup as an ideal platform to build the Malaysia squad, especially against quality opponents like Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and prepare for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. "We need to be brave. Don't be scared to lose. This is the time to see our strengths and test ourselves competitively." Jamal questioned the decision-making on the withdrawal and the handling of the affair. "When the invitation came, you need to sit down and plan properly, whether you can play or not, whether your players can be released or not," he said. "Only when that's confirmed, then send the letter of confirmation to CAFA. Don't confirm first, then only ask questions later. That's unorganised. It opens the door for criticism that always goes unanswered."
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Harimau Malaya's 'haywire' management
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's withdrawal from the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA) Nations Cup has exposed two deep-rooted problems within the national team setup — poor internal structure and overdependence on heritage or naturalised players. This was stated by football legend Datuk Jamal Nasir following Malaysia's eyebrow-raising pullout from the Nations Cup. Jamal expressed his concern over the way Harimau Malaya is being managed. He described the current structure as uncoordinated and overly reliant on individuals instead of a unified system. There has been backlash from fans after head coach Peter Cklamovski — instead of the national team CEO, Rob. Friend or deputy CEO Stanley Bernard — announced Malaysia's withdrawal. "Harimau Malaya are 'so-called' privatised and managed by certain individuals. So if the structure is haywire, it's not about FAM, but within Harimau Malaya itself," he said. "Why doesn't the CEO speak? Why always the head coach? Perhaps something is going on in management that we don't understand." Jamal said a proper national team setup should not be thrown into disarray just because a few key players (Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, Facundo Garces and Gabriel Palmero) were unavailable. "Why must we focus on just three or four unavailable players? "Whether the tournament is inside or outside the FIFA calendar shouldn't be the issue. "Unless we don't have a team at all, this shouldn't be a problem," he said. Jamal feels that Malaysia's dependency on naturalised players is making the team fragile and unsustainable in the long run. "We can't just rely on naturalised or heritage players all the time, they have their commitments too," he said. "We need to believe in the other players. When certain players can't come, we collapse. "It shows a lack of trust in the rest of the squad." He viewed the Nations Cup as an ideal platform to build the Malaysia squad, especially against quality opponents like Iran, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, and prepare for the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers. "We need to be brave. Don't be scared to lose. This is the time to see our strengths and test ourselves competitively." Jamal questioned the decision-making on the withdrawal and the handling of the affair. "When the invitation came, you need to sit down and plan properly, whether you can play or not, whether your players can be released or not," he said. "Only when that's confirmed, then send the letter of confirmation to CAFA.
